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>>>there doesn't seem to ever be enough good news on the
cancer
front. we have progress to report tonight. a new government report projecting the ranks of
cancer survivors
will grow by nearly a third over the next ten years to 18 million people. this means people are living longer, of course, after a
cancer
diagnosis. and an early warning about the risk of getting
cancer
will help which brings us to the bigger
cancer
news tonight. it has to do with a diagnosis and treatment of some of the most common and deadly forms of the disease. our report from our chief science correspondent
robert bazell
.

>> reporter: it is a trove of new
genetic information
about
cancer
that could soon help millions of patients. julie oberding was diagnosed with a precancerous breast legion. the question for her and her doctor, does she need extensive treatment now or can she wait?

>>those of us who take care of
high risk
patients are in a dilemma as to what's an aggressive tumor.

>> reporter: ground-breaking studies of more than 200,000 people in some 200 labs around the world, almost double the number of gene variations known to affect risk for the deadliest
cancer
-- breast, ovarian and prostate. this information will lead to
blood tests
to determine how much a person is at risk and how serious the
cancer
might be.

>>i'm excited because i now have more information that can guide my treatment.

>> reporter: because there were so many subjects in the research study, some of these tests could be available in your doctor's office in a year or two. other wills come further down the road. the explosion of
genetic information
is possible because robotic machines can identify slight differences in the dna to signal
cancer
risk. finding these variations used to take months or years. now it takes days.

>>we started this project four years ago. already we are at an end point where we can make tremendous benefits for the patient. we really thought we would be studying this for 10, maybe 15 years before we'd see an outcome.

>> reporter: the tests will identify more families with a
high risk
for
cancer
allowing julie and her loved ones to make informed decisions.

>>i am one of five girls in our family. this is a
big deal
for our family.

>> reporter: it is a giant step toward the goal of
personalized medicine
. giving individuals and families exactly the information and the treatment they need.
robert bazell
, nbc news, rochester, minnesota.